In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation or days of precept are days on which Catholic Christians are expected to attend Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation (i.e., they are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God), according to the third commandment.
The expectation is attached to the holy day, even if transferred to another date, as sometimes happens in the Roman Rite. However, in some countries a dispensation is granted in such circumstances.
Latin Church The holy days of obligation for Latin Church Catholics are indicated in canon 1246 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law:
Placed in the order of the liturgical calendar, the ten days (apart from Sundays) that this canon mentions are: 8 December: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary 25 December: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) 1 January: Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God 6 January: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord 19 March: Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary Thursday of the sixth week of Eastertide: Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord Thursday after Trinity Sunday: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) 29 June: Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles 15 August: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 1 November: Solemnity of All Saints
There used to be many more holy days of obligation. With the motu proprio of 2 July 1911, Supremi disciplinae, Pope Pius X reduced the number of such non-Sunday holy days from 36 to 8: the above 10 dates (1 January was then the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ) minus the feasts the Body and Blood of Christ, and Saint Joseph. The present list was established in canon 1247 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, now canon 1246 of the current Code of Canon Law.
Even before the time of Pius X, the bishops in many countries had obtained the Holy See's approval to diminish the number of non-Sunday holy days of obligation, making the total fewer than 36. Today too, episcopal conferences have availed themselves of the authority granted to them to reduce such days to the ten mentioned above.
Non-Sunday holy days of obligation all have the rank of solemnity. Accordingly, if in Ordinary Time one of them falls on a Sunday, the Sunday celebration gives way to it; but the Sundays of Advent, Lent and Eastertide take precedence over all other solemnities, which are then transferred to another day,General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar are codified at § 5. along with the precept to attend Mass. Occasionally, the Feast of the Sacred Heart may fall on Ss. Peter and Paul's feast day, in which case it takes precedence over the Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul; the precept then applies to the feast of the Sacred Heart.
Working holy days While episcopal conferences may suppress holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday, some of them have maintained as holy days of obligation some days that are not public holidays. For most people, such days are normal working days, and they therefore cannot observe the obligation "to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord's day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body".Canon 1247 However, the faithful remain bound by the obligation to participate in Mass. For these days, colloquially referred to as "working holy days", churches may have a special schedule, with Mass available outside the normal working hours or on the preceding evening. In times past, holy days would often be referred to as days of single or double precept, with those of double precept requiring the faithful to both attend Mass and to abstain from servile works, whereas days of single precept would permit servile work.Volume II - 1881, p. 115 - 117
In Ireland, the only holy days of obligation that are also public holidays are Christmas and Saint Patrick's Day. Thus, there are five working holy days. Similarly, Slovakia has four holy days of obligation that are also public holidays: Christmas, Solemnity of Mary Mother of God,The solemnity per se is not celebrated in Slovakia as a public holiday, but happens to coincide with the Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic. Epiphany, and All Saints', leaving it with five working holy days. In the Netherlands, the bishops conference decreed that, with effect from 1 January 1991, the feasts of the Assumption and All Saints, each of which it had previously decided to celebrate on the following Sunday, were to be of obligation as regards Mass, but not for abstaining from work.Analecta Aartsbisdom Utrecht, jaargang 63, November/December 1990, p. 294-295
Observance by country In Vatican City, but not in the rest of the Diocese of Rome, Sundays and all 10 days listed in canon 1246 are observed as holy days of obligation. This is also the case in the Diocese of Lugano (covering the Swiss canton of Ticino), but perhaps nowhere else.
Some countries have as holy days of obligation feasts that are not among those listed in canon 1246. Ireland has Saint Patrick's Day. Germany and Hungary have Saint Stephen on the "Second Christmas Day" (26 December), Easter Monday, and Pentecost Monday (Whit Monday).
In countries where they are not holy days of obligation, three of the ten feast days listed above are assigned to a Sunday as their proper day:General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, 7 The Feast of the Epiphany to the Sunday that falls between 2 and 8 January; if 6 January falls on Sunday there is no B date, The Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord, which always falls on a Thursday, to the following Sunday; The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ to the following Sunday. If they are thus assigned to a Sunday, they are not included in the following national lists of holy days of obligation, since "in every country all Sundays are holy days of obligation".
Andorra Epiphany Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Birth of our Lady All Saints' Day Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Christmas
Argentina Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Assumption of the Virgin Mary Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary Christmas
Australia Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Christmas
Austria Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Epiphany Feast of the Ascension The Body and Blood of Christ Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary All Saints' Day Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Christmas
Bahrain Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God St Thomas Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Birth of our Lady Christmas
Belgium Feast of the Ascension Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary All Saints' Day Christmas
The four days mentioned above have been Belgium's holy days of obligation since the concordat of 1801 (which itself is not recognized as legally binding in Belgium since independence). Therefore, the current system is in force because of canon 5 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, as was recognized by the Episcopal Conference of Belgium on 28 October 1986.
Brazil Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God The Body and Blood of Christ Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary Christmas
Brunei Feast of the Ascension Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary All Saints' Day Christmas
Canada Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God ChristmasCelebrating the Season of Christmas , Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2002
Chile Assumption of the Virgin Mary All Saints' Day Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary Christmas
China Since the 1950s, China has not had a bishops' conference recognized by the Holy See. The current bishops' conference of China does not include all of the bishops of the country, as 'underground' bishops without state approval are not included. Possessing a recognized bishops' conference is a prerequisite in canon law for moving feast days or removing their obligation on a permanent basis, as the bishops' conference must receive permission from the Holy See to do either.Code of Canon Law 1246, https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann1244-1253_en.html#:~:text=It%20is%20only%20for%20the%20supreme%20ecclesiastical%20authority,dioceses%20or%20places%2C%20but%20only%20in%20individual%20instances. Otherwise bishops and pastors only have the authority to suspend an obligation on a case-by-case basis. An online source published by the Archdiocese of Beijing recites the canon law verbatim (including all 10 feast days in the general calendar) in answer to the question of 'what feast days must be observed' without any mention of days that are cancelled or moved.https://www.wanyouzhenyuan.cn/index.php?m=news&a=content&id=38618, 当守的法定节日有哪些？, 万有真原, 天主教北京教区西什库教堂 所有, retrieved January 24th 2024
However, this situation only exists in mainland China. In the Diocese of Hong Kong, Christmas is the only holy day of obligation. The same seems to be true for Taiwan. In the diocese of Macau, the holy days of obligations are the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Christmas, and the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
Colombia Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary Christmas
Croatia Feast of Corpus Christi Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary All Saints' Day Christmas
Czech Republic Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Christmas
In Czech Republic, holy days of obligation are, by Czech Bishops' Conference, reduced to only two days, which are also public holidays in the Czech Republic' Since the other holy days of obligation mentioned in the Code of Canon Law are not public holidays, the Czech Bishops' Conference does not make attendance at Mass obligatory for Catholics, but only recommends it, as it does also on the feast days of Saints Cyril and Methodius (5 July) and Saint Wenceslas (28 September). Attendance at Mass is of course obligatory on all Sundays.
Denmark Includes Faroe Islands and Greenland. Feast of the Ascension Christmas
Dominican Republic Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Epiphany Feast of Corpus Christi Christmas Feast of Our Lady of Altagracia Feast of Our Lady of Mercy
El Salvador Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Epiphany Feast of Corpus Christi Christmas
England and Wales Epiphany Ascension Feast of Saints Peter and Paul Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary All Saints' Day Christmas (See Liturgy Office.)
According to a 1984 decision of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, holydays which fall on a Saturday or a Monday (with the exception of Christmas) are transferred to the adjacent Sunday. In 2006, the Epiphany, Ascension and Corpus Christi were transferred to the nearest Sunday. On 17 November 2016 meeting in Leeds, the Bishops' Conference determined that the Epiphany and the Ascension should be celebrated on their official days, or on the adjacent Sunday when 6 January is a Saturday or a Monday. This decision was approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and became effective from 3 December 2017.Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, Decree on the Observance of Holy Days of Obligation in the Dioceses of England and Wales, 1 September 2017Holydays of Obligation - England and Wales, published 2 September 2017, accessed 5 May 2018
There are different regulations for Scotland and for Ireland.
Finland Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Epiphany Feast of the Ascension Christmas (See Catholic Church in Finland: Practical Matters.)
France Feast of the Ascension Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary All Saints' Day Christmas
Germany Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Feast of the Ascension Christmas Easter Monday Pentecost Monday Saint Stephen's Day or (Second Christmas Day)
In addition, some federal states with a high percentage of Catholic people have one or more of the following holy days of obligation: Epiphany Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ